As of 2017, the California Democratic Party is the largest state Democratic Party in the United States. It holds an annual convention where a platform is agreed upon, officer elections take place, and resolutions are put forward and voted on. At the 2017 convention, one-third of the delegates were elected officials and their appointed delegates, one-third were county democratic party central comittee members, and one-third were publicly elected assembly delegates. The 2017 CDP convention was particularly significant due to the party officer elections, most notably the election for chair. The two main candidates running were Kimberly Ellis (former president of Emerge), and Eric Bauman (Male vice-chair of the CDP). A third candidate also ran for chair, obtaining 7 votes. In total, 2,999 delegates voted. The CDP officially declared Eric Bauman the winner, obtaining 62 more votes than Kimberly Ellis and reached just over the required mark to avoid a runoff election. Kimerbly Ellis, along with her supporters (approximately half the delegation, contested the election and called for an independent audit of the ballots and election materials.

Also significant at the 2017 convention was the 2018 governor campaign kickoff. The four democratic governor candidates (Delaine Eastin, Gavin Newsom, John Chiang, and Antonio Villaraigosa) were present at the convention. Eastin, Newsom, and Chiang managed campaign tables with informational volunteers and handouts (notably, Villaraigosa did not make any noticeable campaign efforts).